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Sunday, November 14, 2010

Facing odds of 4568:1, one talented young lady rose above the rest to be the next member of After School.

After becoming a finalist in a public audition in which more than 4000 hopefuls tried out back in September, Kim Kyung Min (not Kim Kyung Mi as earlier reported) won out with her talents in dancing. After a few months in training, it is now official that she will become After School’s 9th member.

Although not much is known at this point, Kim Kyung Min is 17 years old in Korean age and currently enrolled in high school. Despite her age, the judges were quoted saying that they were genuinely surprised at the audition when such a young girl started dancing so well. The style suits After School who are well known for their skills in dancing.

“I saw singers singing and dancing and having fun and being happy, so I started to dream that I would become a singer that could give happiness to those around me,” said Kyung Min. “Because what I’ve dreamed for has become reality, because this is just the beginning I will try my hardest to become an excellent singer.”

With After School’s comeback supposedly scheduled to be in the near future, fans can only wait to see the new girl in school. We have yet to see an official confirmation from Pledis, but we should expect an announcement of the sort soon!

Orange Caramel is scheduled to release their 2nd mini-album on November 18th but it seems they won’t promote under sub unit Orange Caramel for too long as After School could make their return in December.

An After School fan on twitter with the user name @kahi_always recently asked @pledisboss(Sunghan) when After School was returning. To the user’s surprise, @pledisboss replied with the tweet:

“@kahi_always 2010.12.02 입니다 / @kahi_always It’s December 2nd, 2010″

So for those of you craving for After School, you seemingly now have a definitive date for their return and I can’t wait to see what they have in store for us. Hopefully, it won’t be delayed like Kahi’s solo. Any further updates on their comeback, we’ll make sure to keep you informed.

Sunday, November 7, 2010

The girl group stands out amongst all the other Korean artists trying to invade the Japanese music market when their all-Korean album broke the 100k barrier in sales.

On the 3rd, KARA’s Japanese agency revealed that the group’s Korean greatest hits album has surpassed 100,000 copies in sales after barely 2 months of release since the end of September. The Recording Industry Association of Japan (RIAJ) has certified the sales digits, making KARA the first Korean group since the ’90s to perform this feat.

This is quite remarkable since the album contains 100% Korean songs, virtually proving KARA’s high popularity in Japan. It also further rises expectations for KARA’s second Japanese single, Jumping, and first original album, Girls Talk, due for release on November 11 and November 24, respectively.

Rookie girl group VNT made their debut on the November 7th episode of Inkigayo.

Comprising of members Yumi, Tina, and Lil.J, the newest girl group on the block have generated a lot of interest among netizens after SHINee’s Minho was revealed to be featuring for them in their title track, “Sound“, and had also acted in their music video.

Touted by their agency to be a highly-skilled trio, and displaying different type of music than from the normal girl group fare, it will be interesting to see what they dish up for their debut!

MBLAQ’s Lee Joon showed up for an interview with Newsen having only slept for 40 minutes out of the entire day. When told that he looked tired, he nonchalantly replied, “It’s fine, I’m used to such a lifestyle.”

Is there any other idol as busy as he is? Busily preparing for MBLAQ’s new album, filming for KBS 2TV’s “Jungle Fish 2,” working on variety programs – it seems like even 10 bodies won’t be enough to complete Lee Joon’s hectic schedule.

Lee Joon previously showed glimpses of his fatigue while appearing on an Mnet program and dozed off while on the show. Viewers began wondering whether he wasn’t putting in enough effort into the show, and said it was right for him to have lost his admission to Seoul University.

Regarding this issue, Lee Joon stated that he felt regretful, but he had a reason. He clarified, “I had no time to rest during that period. I knew that I had to study, but I couldn’t. I have a severe bipolar disorder, and people only saw what was broadcasted on TV. They don’t see the effort behind the screen, such as the late-night rehearsals. No matter how hard I tried, my body just couldn’t keep up with me, so it was very upsetting.”

According to Lee Joon, he has been suffering from bipolar disorder, and recently, has developed insomnia. Despite the physical and mental stress, Lee Joon continues to work hard in improving himself and achieving satisfaction in his work.

“Acting is so fun. I have to work harder on it, but it’s hard to pay too much attention to it when I also have album promotions to do. While on break from the drama, I’d go film for a variety program, and then record for MBLAQ’s album during the 30-minute breaks. I wanted to do at least one thing properly, but I was never satisfied with what I put out.”

Despite having to work under such harsh conditions, Lee Joon stated that he was doing the best he could, and as joyfully as he could. “I’ve suffered from insomnia before my debut. It was fixed for a bit due to the fatigue after our debut, but it has come back recently. I haven’t slept for two days today and went for my script reading. It’s fun, so it’s all right. I don’t think I’ll be appearing on variety programs as often. I’ll be working hard on my drama and making sure our new album is of high quality.”

On November 6th, TVXQ’s Yunho recently confessed through KBS 2TV’s ‘Entertainment Relay‘ that he had a relationship with an older woman in the past.

Yunho was initially asked about what his ideal woman was like. He said, “My ideal woman is someone who has good manners and respects the elderly. I feel more relaxed when I see those sides from women.”

When asked about why he’s always chosen actress Jeon Ji Hyun as his ideal, Yunho explained, “I liked her character from the movie, ‘My Sassy Girl‘. I like girls who can control me.”

Boldly, the interviewer asked, “Have you ever dated an older woman?”, to which Yunho confessed truthfully, “Yes I have, but unfortunately she didn’t control me.”

On November 6th, 2005, Super Junior debuted with their first stage on SBS “Inkigayo“, winning the attention of the industry and audience with their large member count. The group continued their stellar success by branching out into various entertainment fields over the past 5 years. No longer containable within Korea’s wee market, the group burst to stardom in the whole of Asia.

In celebration of their fifth anniversary just around the corner, let’s take a tour of Super Junior’s five year long history.

On top of their singing careers, the members of Super Junior have branched out as actors, MCs, DJs, comedians, producers and models since their debut, letting the versatile individuals find their niche talent. Their “separate but together” was their motto and catchphrase since the debut. Though this strategy received questionable reaction from the industry, it is now widely accepted and emulated in the current market where all-around entertainers are highly coveted.

Even now, “separate but together” is their logo, earning praise and prominence in various fields. Siwon,Heechul, Kibum and Donghae all earned recognition as actors; Leetuek, EunHyuk and Shindongare daily doses of laughter with Radio DJing and variety shows; finally, Kyuhyun, Yesung, Sungmin,Ryeowook and Donghae actively participate in musicals and OSTs.

2. SuJu’s unique concept of “unit systems”

Super Junior pioneered the “unit system.” It was as unique and foreign as the “separate but together” strategy, but within years, various groups utilized the same method, making the unit system a landmark concept.

With excellent vocals, Kyuhyun, Ryeowook and Yesung created Suju’s ballad unit “Super Junior K.R.Y.” “Super Junior-T” was the first idol formation to delve into trot music. They also won various awards in China with “Super Junior-M” and when focusing on pleasant music created “Super Junior-Happy” to transform and fit into different performances and stages.

3. Widespread success across Asia

Super Junior’s story-packed five year history lead to their current status as one of the lead idol groups of Korea, winning the attention of the whole Asian continent.

Their 3rd album “Sorry Sorry” sold over 250 thousand copies and earned the Golden Disk Award, won the title “Album King” of 2009, was named “2009 Asia’s Most Popular Single” by Thailand’s Channel.V, ranked 1st for 36 straight weeks on Taiwan’s KKBOX, and 34 weeks on ezpeer+. The single “Sorry Sorry” spread like an epidemic in Asia.

Additionally, SuJu’s 4th album “BONAMANA” is expected to top album sales again, reigned for 22 weeks on KKBOX, and Japan’s famous drama named Super Junior as Korea’s top group, affirming their Asia’s superstar title.

Furthermore, their second Asia tour “Super Show 2” was presented fifteen times across nine cities and “Super Show 3″ across thirteen cities enthralling the global fans.

On November 6th, Super Junior will hold a party with their official fanclub at Seoul Korea University to commemorate their 5th year anniversary. Congrats to this talented group – we look forward to what the future years will bring!